Some measures of racial inequality will be difficult to change but others could improve more readily. For instance, new numbers from Nielsen show most Americans spending far too much time watching TV, but black families facing an especially acute problem.

Overall, Americans devote 5 hours a day to television, but for African Americans the number soars to 7 hours a day—more than any other population group. Asian-Americans, by contrast, watch TV in ways physicians and psychologists consider responsible, limiting viewing to two hours a day. This means a typical Asian-American spends an astonishing 35 hours less per week in front of a TV set than a typical African-American.

No wonder that Asians best all racial groups in educational performance, household income, family stability, life expectancy and other measures of well-being. When it comes to wasting less time on the tube, all other segments of the population could learn from their example.